Are safe consumption sites effective?

This article is part of the Reality Check series by Canada's National Observer.  Have a question for us? Reach out at [email protected].

Claim: Safe consumption sites don’t work

At a campaign stop this week, Pierre Poilievre told supporters that Mark Carney said fentanyl is not a crisis in Canada, just in the United States. “It’s hard to believe how anyone could be so out of touch,” Poilievre said.

“No wonder when Gregor Robertson was mayor of Vancouver, overdoses increased by 600 percent. For three terms in government, the Liberal Party has caused the addiction crisis to spiral out of control.” Poilievre then pledged that if his party wins power, they will shut down all safe consumption sites, which he referred to as “drug dens.” He quoted a study that said there was “no evidence that accessing a site lowers an individual’s risk of fatal overdose over time.” 

Verdict: False

First, did Carney tell his supporters that fentanyl is not a crisis in Canada? Yes — but he said it was “a challenge” for Canada and a crisis for the United States. 

The Liberal Party platform pledges to invest $500 million to support the provinces and territories in providing access to a full-range of evidence-based treatment, “recognizing that successful treatment is not determined by long-term abstinence.”

Second, when Gregor Robertson, Liberal candidate for Vancouver Fraserview-South Burnaby, was mayor of Vancouver, did overdose deaths rise by 600 per cent? Not exactly — those numbers are for the entire province of British Columbia, not just Vancouver. Robertson was also mayor at the moment fentanyl first became popularized as a street drug, which has spiked overdose rates everywhere it’s been adopted into the street supply, across Canada and elsewhere.

Lastly, do safe consumption sites work? Overwhelmingly, the evidence says they do. 

Research has shown they reduce the death rate for drug users, reduce ambulance calls, reduce HIV infections, and increase the number of users who access drug treatment. Studies have also found that there is no increase in crime rates in neighbourhoods with safe consumption sites.  

And while there is some competing evidence, like the study that Poilievre cited, it has been criticised for misrepresenting evidence. The main finding of the section Poilievre cited is that there is insufficient evidence, specific of death rates, so far.